Short term outcome and predictors of response to neoadjuvant treatment in rectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation in the treatment of rectal cancer and to see if it can be predicted whether a particular patient will benefit from such treatment. METHODS The retrospective case series was done at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised data related to period from January 2005 to December 2014 of patients with rectal cancer who had received neoadjuvant treatment. They were divided into responders and non-responders on the basis of imaging. Pre-treatment factors were compared to identify differences in the two groups. SPSS 19 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The median age of 35 patients whose records were studied was 44 years (interquartile range: 33-54). Response to neoadjuvant treatment was seen in 13(37%) patients with complete pathological response in 8(22.9%). There was no statistically significant difference in age, gender, pre-treatment tumour stage, tumour biology and distance from anal verge among the responders and the non-responders (p>0.05 each). CONCLUSIONS Response to neoadjuvant treatment in rectal cancer was low.